JP6839389B2 - Image processing and error handling systems and printing methods for linearized and non-linearized portable document format (Pdf) files - Google Patents

Description

The present application generally relates to printing devices. More specifically, a PDF image forming system configured to interpret and print all PDF formats, including non-linearized and linearized PDF formats, at a specified printing speed for both linearized and non-linearized PDF processing. Regarding a PDF image formation system with an error handling mechanism that improves error handling performance when an error occurs during file reception timing and avoids printing of incorrect error pages that may occur during PDF file linear processing. ..

A portable document format (PDF) is a file format used to present and exchange manuscripts that are independent of software, hardware, or operating systems. Manuscripts that are converted to PDF files or saved as PDF files generally have the option of being saved as a particular PDF standard. The PDF standard selected is generally determined by the purpose for which the PDF manuscript was created.

When printing a PDF file, the user may send the PDF file data from the printer driver using network commands (eg, LPR) or USB printing. The printer firmware may need to handle all types of PDF formats such as PDF 1.2, 1.5, 1.7 and other PDF format types. Briefly, a PDF file may be defined as having two types of layouts. Non-linearized and linearized.

A non-linearized PDF file may consume less disk space than a linearized PDF file, but a linearized PDF file because the data portion required for aggregating the pages of a manuscript may be scattered in the PDF file. It may take longer to access than. Thus, printing a non-linearized PDF file may require the printer to wait until all file data has been received, as important interpretation information may be located at the end of the file. is there.

Linearized PDF files (also called "optimized" or "web-optimized" PDF files) are written to disk in a linear fashion (such as page order). Therefore, it may be configured in a way that allows it to be read by a web browser plug-in without waiting for the entire file to be downloaded. A linearized PDF file contains a linearization parameter dictionary at the beginning of the file, even if you specify linearization information such as total file size (LSize), page 1 size (1stPgSize), and other linearization information. Good. In a linearized PDF file, both the interpretation information and the first page data are placed at the beginning of the file. Thus, the printer firmware may start interpreting and printing the first page data of the linearized PDF file without having to wait for the entire page data to be received. As described above, the linearized PDF file is generally expected to have better printing performance than the non-linearized PDF file.

It is not impossible to convert a non-linearized PDF file to a linearized PDF file. However, due to the limited memory configuration and printing speed of the printer system, adding a linearized PDF converter to the printer firmware can be costly and slow down the printer speed. In addition, there are situations in which it may be more desirable to print a PDF file as a non-linearized PDF file as opposed to a linearized PDF file, so it is necessary to support both formats within the printer firmware.

Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system and method to overcome the above. The system and method can interpret and print all PDF formats, including non-linearized and linearized PDF formats. The system and method provide linearized PDF format detection and conversion mechanisms within different devices within the pipeline base of different PDF print flows. The system and method provide an error handling mechanism within the stream data storage to improve error handling performance and interpretation of PDF files and avoid printing erroneous error pages.

According to one embodiment, methods of processing linearized and non-linearized portable document format (PDF) files for printing are disclosed. In this method, the printer driver determines whether or not the printer driver has detected that the PDF file is linearized, and the printer driver detects that the PDF file is linearized. When the printer firmware determines that this has been done, the process of saving and processing the stream data of the PDF file by the printer firmware and the fact that the PDF file is linearized have not been confirmed by the printer driver. In this case, it includes a step of determining whether or not the PDF file is linearized by the printer firmware.

According to one embodiment, methods of processing linearized and non-linearized portable document format (PDF) files for printing are disclosed. This method is a step of acquiring the file size of the PDF file by a printer driver, and when the PDF file is transmitted for printing via the printer driver, is the PDF file linearized? The step of determining whether or not the printer driver is used, the step of linearizing the PDF file by the printer driver when the PDF file is non-linearized, and the step of linearizing the printer command information by the printer driver. The process of adding to the printer, the process of transmitting the printer command information to the printer firmware by the printer driver, and whether or not the printer driver detects that the PDF file is linearized or not. -The step of determining by the firmware, and when the printer firmware determines that the printer driver has detected that the PDF file is linearized, the printer firmware determines that the PDF file is streamed. -A step of saving data, and a step of determining whether or not the PDF file is linearized by the printer firmware when the printer driver has not confirmed that the PDF file is linearized. It includes a step of identifying a linearization error by the printer firmware and a step of identifying and processing a print error in parallel by the printer firmware while storing and interpreting stream data.

According to one embodiment, a system for processing linearized and non-linearized portable document format (PDF) files for printing is disclosed. The system includes a printer driver and a printer firmware module. The printer driver receives the PDF file when the PDF file is transmitted for printing via the printer driver, determines whether or not the PDF file is linearized, and determines whether or not the PDF file is linearized. When the file is non-linearized, the PDF file is linearized, and when the PDF file is linearized, printer command information is added to the PDF file. The printer firmware module determines whether or not the printer driver detects that the PDF file is linearized, and the printer driver has not confirmed that the PDF file is linearized. In the case of, the PDF file is linearized, and when the size difference between the linearized specific file size of the PDF file and the first page file size of the PDF file is larger than the threshold size, the PDF file is displayed. If the size difference between the linearized specific file size of the PDF file and the first page file size of the PDF file is less than the threshold size, the PDF file is processed as non-linearized. If the linearized key character string is unconfirmed in the first part of the received PDF file, the PDF file is processed as non-linearized. The printer firmware identifies the authenticity of the linearization error and identifies and processes the print error in parallel while storing and interpreting the stream data.

The present application will be further detailed by the following drawings. These figures are not intended to limit the scope of the invention, but rather illustrate certain attributes of the invention.
It is a figure of an example of the system which prints the linearized and non-linearized PDF files which concerns on one aspect of this application. FIG. 5 is a simplified configuration diagram showing an exemplary computing device depicted in FIG. 1 according to an aspect of the present application. FIG. 5 is a simplified configuration diagram showing an exemplary image forming apparatus depicted in FIG. 1 according to an aspect of the present application. It is an example of the embodiment of the flowchart which describes the printing method of the linearized and non-linearized PDF files which concerns on one aspect of this application. It is an example of the embodiment of the flowchart which describes the operation of the application tool used in the system of FIG. 1 which concerns on one aspect of this application. It is an example of the embodiment of the flowchart which describes the operation of the printer driver used in the system of FIG. 1 which concerns on one aspect of this application. It is an example of the embodiment of the flowchart which describes the operation of the printer firmware used in the system of FIG. 1 which concerns on one aspect of this application. It is an example of the embodiment of the flowchart which describes the operation of the linearized detection part used in the printer firmware of FIG. 7 which concerns on one aspect of this application. It is an example of the embodiment of the flowchart which describes the non-linearized processing of the PDF file by the printer firmware of FIG. 7 which concerns on one aspect of this application. It is an example of the embodiment of the flowchart which describes the linearized processing of the PDF file by the printer firmware of FIG. 7 which concerns on one aspect of this application. It is an example of the embodiment of the flowchart which describes the operation of the error coping mechanism used in the printer firmware of FIG. 7 which concerns on one aspect of this application. It is a flowchart of the prior art which describes the error page printing by the printer firmware which concerns on one aspect of this application. It is an example of the embodiment of the flowchart which describes the error page printing by the printer firmware of FIG. 7 which concerns on one aspect of this application.

The description set forth below in connection with the accompanying drawings is intended to describe the current preferred embodiments of the present disclosure and is not intended to represent the only form in which the disclosure is constructed and / or available. This description specifies the function and order of the steps that make up and operate the present disclosure, with examples of embodiments. However, it should be understood that the same or equivalent functions and sequences can be achieved by different embodiments intended to be covered within the gist and scope of the disclosure.

An embodiment of an example system and method relates to a PDF image forming system and method configured to interpret and print all PDF formats, including non-linearized and linearized PDF formats. One example system and method provides linearized PDF format detection and conversion mechanisms for different devices in the printing pipeline. The use of detection and conversion mechanisms depends on the PDF print flow. Linearization detection within the printer firmware occurs on the fly when stream data is received and the PDF file is saved and there is no need to wait. Thereby, it can be determined by the optimum method. For linearized PDF files, one system and method collates the size difference between the total file size and the first page size (1stPgSize). If it is detected that the size difference exceeds a predetermined value, the linearized process may be used to save the file storage time spent on later pages. If not, non-linearized processing may be used. In the linearized PDF processing, two processing stages may be introduced for high-speed printing to search for parallel processing. Linearized step 1 stores the first page data in RAM and interprets the first page data so that it is not necessary to wait for printing of the first page until all the data is received. It may be included. Linearized step 2 may include storing and interpreting later page data. As a result, the printing speed of the first page may be optimized, and the printing speed of the entire PDF document may be optimized as well. An example system and method may provide an error handling mechanism for interpreting PDF files that can avoid printing false error pages. Specific linearized errors caused by an unconfirmed file size during the interpretation of the first page may be detected, and a non-linearized interpreter may be used to avoid printing the error page. ..

With reference to FIG. 1, the system 10 is shown. The system 10 may be configured to interpret and print all PDF formats, including non-linearized and linearized PDF files, at optimal printing speeds. System 10 provides linearized PDF format detection and conversion mechanisms within different devices within the pipeline base of different PDF print flows. The system 10 may have an error handling mechanism that avoids printing false error pages that may occur during the PDF file linearization process. The components of the system 10 may be connected via a wired or wireless connection.

The system 10 may have an image forming apparatus 14. The image forming apparatus 14 may be any type of apparatus having printing ability. For example, the image forming apparatus 14 is a multifunction peripheral device including one or more functions of a printer, a copying machine, a fax machine, a scanner and a copying machine, a facsimile device, and a printer, and / or another type of rendering device. May be good. The image forming apparatus 14 may be used to output a print job as described later.

The image forming apparatus 14 may be connected to the printing server 16. The print server 16 may be used to connect the image forming apparatus 14 to one or more computing devices 18 through the network 22. The network 22 may be a local area network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN) and / or a public network. The print server 16 may accept the print job from the computing device 18 or may send the print job to the appropriate image forming apparatus 14. The print server 16 may arrange the jobs locally because the print jobs may arrive earlier than the image forming apparatus 14 can print. Alternatively or additionally, the computing device 18 may be directly connected to the image forming apparatus 14.

The individual 12 may use one or more computing devices 18 to send a print job to the image forming apparatus 14. The computing device 18 includes a desktop computer, a handheld or laptop device, a tablet, a mobile phone device, a server computer system, a multiprocessor system, a microprocessor-based system, a network personal computer, and the above-mentioned system or device. It may be a client computer system or the like in a distributed cloud computing environment or the like including any of them. The computing device 18 may be described in the general context of instructions that can be executed by a computer system, such as a program module, executed by the computer system, as described below. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the computing device 18 may be considered as a desktop / laptop computing system 18A (also referred to as a personal computing system), a tablet device 18B, and a mobile phone device 18C. Good. However, this should not be considered a limitation as it may be used with any of the computing devices 18 described above.

The computing device 18 may include an operating system. The operating system of the computing device 18 may manage the hardware and software assets of the computing device 18 or provide general services for computer programs running on the computing device 18. May be good. The computing device 18 may include a linear conversion module 20 (also referred to as a linearized PDF converter). The linear conversion module 20 may convert a non-linear PDF file into a linear PDF file as described below.

With reference to FIG. 2, the computing device 18 is described in more detail with respect to the mechanical elements that provide functionality to the systems and methods disclosed herein. The components of the computing device 18 include one or more processors or processing units 30, system memory 32, and system bus 34 connecting various system components from system memory 32 to including processor 30. However, it is not limited to these. The computing device 18 may typically include various computer system readable media. Such media may be selected from any available media accessible by the computing device 18, including non-temporary, volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. The system memory 32 can include one or more personal computing system readable media in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 36 and / or cache memory 38. As an example, a storage system 40 may be provided for reading and writing from a non-removable non-volatile magnetic medium device, typically referred to as a "hard drive".

The system memory 32 may include at least one program product / utility 42 having a set (eg, at least one) of program modules 44 that may be configured to perform the functions of the embodiments of the present invention. .. Program module 44 may include, but is not limited to, an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data. Each operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, or a combination thereof, may include an implementation of a network environment. Program module 44 generally implements the functional and / or method systems of embodiments of the invention described herein. For example, the program module 44 may have a linear transformation module 20. According to one embodiment, the linear conversion module 20 may form part of a printer driver stored in the system memory 32 of the computing device 18.

The computing device 18 may communicate with one or more external devices 46 such as a keyboard, a position indicator, a display 48, or any similar device (eg, a network card, a modem, etc.). The display unit 48 may be a light emitting diode (LED) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD) display, a cathode ray tube (CRT) display, or a similar display device. The external device 46 may allow the computing device 18 to communicate with the image forming device 14 (FIG. 1). Such communication may occur via the input / output (I / O) interface 50. Alternatively, the personal computing system 18A, via the network adapter 52, is one or more of local area networks (LANs), general wide area networks (WANs), and / or public networks, and the like. It may communicate with the network 22 (FIG. 1). The computing device 18 may be connected to one or more networks via a wired or wireless connection. As depicted, the network adapter 52 may communicate with other components of the computing device 18 via the system bus 34.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, aspects of the disclosed invention may be embodied as a system, method or process, or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the disclosed invention are generally hardware embodiments, overall software embodiments (firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or all generally "circuits", "modules" herein. , Or a form of an embodiment that combines software and hardware aspects, which may be referred to as a "system." Further, the aspects of the disclosed invention may exhibit in the form of a computer program product embodying one or more computer readable media embodying computer readable program code therein.

Any combination of one or more computer-readable media (eg, storage system 40) may be utilized. In connection with such disclosure, the computer-readable storage medium may include or store any tangible or non-temporary program (eg, Program Product 42) used by or in connection with an instruction execution system, instrument, or device. Medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or a semiconductor system, instrument, or device, or any suitable combination described above, but is not limited thereto.

With reference to FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 14 is described in more detail with respect to the mechanical elements that provide functionality to the systems and methods disclosed herein. Various system components including one or more processors or processing devices 60, system memory 62, and system memory 62 to processing unit 60 may be connected to the components of the image forming apparatus 14. 63 may be included, but is not limited to these. The image forming apparatus 14 may typically include various computer system readable media. Such media can also be selected from any available media accessible by the image forming apparatus 14, including non-temporary, volatile and non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media. The system memory 62 may also include one or more image-forming device readable media in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) and / or cache memory. As just one example, system memory 62 may be provided for reading and writing from a non-removable non-volatile magnetic medium device, typically referred to as a "hard drive".

The system memory 62 may include at least one program product / utility 64 having a set (eg, at least one) of program modules 66 that may be configured to perform the functions of the embodiments of the present invention. .. Program module 66 may include, but is not limited to, an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data. Each operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data, or a combination thereof, may include an implementation of a network environment. Program module 66 may include procedures such as a page converter, rasterizer, compression code, page print scheduler, print engine manager, and similar printing applications (ie, printer firmware). Program module 66 generally implements the functional and / or method systems of embodiments of the invention described herein.

The image forming apparatus 14 may have one or more communication modules 68. In the communication module 68, the image forming apparatus 14 is one or more networks such as a local area network (LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), and / or a public network. (That is, the network 22 shown in FIG. 1) may be allowed to communicate. According to one embodiment, the communication module 68 may include a network communication processing unit 70A connected to the network communication interface 70B. The network communication processing unit 70A and the network communication interface 70B may allow the image forming apparatus 14 to communicate with one or more networks 22. These networks 22 may be local area networks (LANs), general wide area networks (WANs), wireless local area networks, public networks, cellular networks, or other types of networks. May be good. The communication module 68 may include a short-range wireless communication processing unit 72A connected to the short-range wireless communication interface 72B. In the short-range wireless communication processing unit 72A and the short-range wireless communication interface 72B, the image forming apparatus 14 uses BLUETOOTH (registered trademark), infrared rays or a similar wireless communication protocol, and other electronic devices located around the image forming apparatus 14 are used. You may allow communication with the device.

The image forming apparatus 14 may include an operation panel 74. The operation panel may include a display unit 76 and an input unit 78 for facilitating interaction with the human image forming apparatus 14. The display unit 76 may be any electronic image display such as an LCD display, an LED display, and a similar display type. The input unit 78 may include any combination of devices such as buttons, keyboards, switches, and / or dials that allow the user to enter information into the control panel 74. In addition, the input unit 78 may include a touch screen digitizer overlaid on the display unit 76 that can sense touch and allow interaction with the display unit 76.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, aspects of the disclosed invention may be embodied as a system, method or process, or computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the disclosed invention are generally hardware embodiments, overall software embodiments (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or all generally "circuits" herein. It may exhibit embodiments that combine software and hardware aspects that may be referred to as "modules" or "systems." Further, the aspects of the disclosed invention may exhibit in the form of a computer program product embodying one or more computer readable media embodying computer readable program code therein.

Any combination of one or more computer-readable media (eg, system memory 62) may be utilized. In connection with such disclosure, the computer-readable storage medium may include or store any tangible or non-program (eg, Program Module 66) used by or in connection with an instruction execution system, instrument, or device. It may be a temporary medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or a semiconductor system, instrument, or device, or any suitable combination described above, but is not limited thereto.

With reference to FIGS. 1-12B, the operation of the system 10 according to an example of the embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the operation of the system 10 may be based on how the PDF file is transmitted to the image forming apparatus 14. The operation of the system 10 may be divided into two processing flows. Flow 1 is defined as a case where a PDF manuscript is opened by an application tool such as Adobe ™ Reader, Adobe ™ Pro, or Microsoft ™ Office and transmitted for printing via a printer driver. You may. Flow 2 may be defined as the case where the PDF document is transmitted directly for printing via network or USB printing.

In Flow 1, the PDF application tool may be used to open the PDF manuscript, as shown in 101. As can be seen from FIG. 5, the individual 12 who opened the PDF file with the application tool may need to determine if the application tool includes a linearized PDF converter, as shown in 101A. Some application tools, such as Acrobat Pro and Microsoft Word, may have a file save option, which allows the individual 12 to save the PDF file in the linearized PDF file standard. Thus, these application tools may allow the individual 12 to convert the non-linearized PDF file into a linearized PDF file within the application tool. If the application tool has a linearized PDF converter, the individual 12 will save the PDF file as a linearized PDF file and linearize the PDF file, as shown in 101B. Saving the PDF file as a linearized PDF file allows the image forming apparatus 14 to start interpreting and printing the first page data of the PDF file without having to wait until the entire page data is received. Printing performance can be optimized. Linearizing a PDF file within an application tool can also allow a linearization process flow for later use by the printing pipeline. However, some application tools such as Adobe ™ Reader may not provide a linearized PDF converter. Thus, if the PDF file is a non-linearized PDF file, the PDF file may still remain a non-linearized PDF file, as shown in 101C.

The data from the PDF file may be sent to the printer driver of the computing device 18 as shown in 102 (FIG. 4). As can be seen from FIG. 6, the printer driver may receive data from the PDF file, as shown in 102A. The printer driver may review the data and match the size of the PDF file, as shown in 102B. The information may be used by the printer driver and the firmware stored in the system memory 62 (FIG. 3) of the image forming apparatus 14 (FIGS. 1 and 3) described below.

The PDF data may be transmitted to the linearized PDF converter 20 (FIGS. 1 and 2) of the printer driver, as shown in 102C. The printer driver's linearized PDF converter 20 may examine the date of the PDF to determine if the PDF file is linearized or non-linearized, as shown in 102D. If the PDF file is a non-linearized PDF file, the printer driver's linearized PDF converter 20 may linearize the PDF file as shown in 102E.

The printer driver may have a Print Job Language (PJL) command module, as shown on 102F. The PJL command module may be used to generate PJL commands. For example, the PJL command module may generate PJL commands for file size and linearization information. According to one embodiment, when the linearized PDF converter 20 of the printer driver linearizes the PDF file, the PJL command module may send the following PJL command to the printer firmware in the image forming apparatus 14.
@PJL SET LPARM: PDF KLINEARIZED PDF = YES
@PJL SET LPARM: PDF KFILE SIZE = PDF FILE SIZE

If the PDF file is a linear PDF file, the PDF file may be sent directly to the PJL command module without going through the linearized PDF converter 20 as shown in 102E. After the PJL command is generated, the PDF file that has already been linearized may be transmitted to the image forming apparatus 14 as shown in 103 (FIG. 4). According to one embodiment, the PJL command module may send the following PJL command to the printer firmware in the image forming apparatus 14.
@PJL SET LPARM: PDF KLINEARIZEDPDF = NO
@PJL SET LPARM: PDF KFILE SIZE = PDF FILE SIZE

As can be seen from FIG. 4, in the printing of the flow 2, the PDF file may be transmitted directly to the image forming apparatus 14 as shown in 103. Flow 2 does not use application tools or printer drivers because the PDF manuscript is sent directly for printing via network or USB printing. As described above, in the flow 2, the printer firmware in the image forming apparatus 14 may need to handle all input formats.

The printer firmware may be used in both Flow 1 and Flow 2. FIG. 7 describes the operation of the printer firmware of the image forming apparatus 14 shown in 103 (FIG. 4). The printer firmware of the image forming apparatus 14 may perform linearized detection of the received PDF file as shown in 301. The printer firmware may determine if the PDF file is linearized, as shown in 302. The printer firmware may be checked to confirm that the PJL command has been received. According to one embodiment, the printer firmware may collate the PJL KLINEARIZEDPDF setting to see if the printer driver has performed a linearization collation. If the linearization collation is done in the printer driver, the printer firmware may start saving stream data based on the KLINEARIZEDPDF setting, otherwise the printer firmware will be as shown in 301. Linearization detection to determine the PDF file type may be performed.

The printer firmware may begin to detect linearization during reception of the stream data, rather than storing all the stream data in the image forming apparatus 14. This may allow the image forming apparatus 14 to optimize the speed at which printing of the first page begins. As shown in FIG. 8, the image forming apparatus 14 may start receiving stream data. The printer firmware may determine whether the image forming apparatus 14 has received 1024 bytes of stream data, as shown in 301B. If less than 1024 bytes of stream data is received, the image forming apparatus 14 may continue to receive the stream data. The printer firmware may initiate linearized detection after receiving a 1024-byte stream buffer (for each PDF specification, the linearization parameter dictionary is located within 1024 bytes). Linearized detection uses a stream buffer, as shown in 301C, and retrieves the "/ Linearized" keyword and parameter information (ie, the linearized key string) contained within the linearization parameter dictionary. It may happen by reviewing the data. If the linearized key string is not found, the PDF file is a non-linearized PDF file, as shown in 301D. If the string is found, the printer firmware may try and interpret the linearization parameter dictionary as shown in 302E. The printer firmware may try to interpret the linearized dictionary to see if it knows the PJL-specified file size, as shown on 302F. If the FileSize is known, the printer firmware may compare the linearized designated file size (LSize) with the FileSize, as shown in 302G. If the LSize is equal to the FileSize, the PDF file may be defined as a linearized PDF file, as shown in 302H. Otherwise, the PDF file may be defined as a non-linearized PDF file, as shown in 301D. If FileSize cannot be determined in the absence of a printer driver, the PDF file may still be defined as a linearized PDF file, as shown in 302H.

With reference to FIG. 7 again, if the PDF file is defined as a non-linearized PDF file, the non-linearized process may be applied to the PDF file as shown in 305. As can be seen from FIG. 9, in the case of the non-linearized processing of the PDF file, as shown in 501, the entire PDF file is stored in the system memory 62 of the image forming apparatus 14. Once the PDF file is saved, it is interpreted and print data is generated, as shown in 502.

When the PDF file is defined as a linearized PDF file, the firmware of the image forming apparatus 14 collates the size difference between the LSize and the 1stPgSize specified by the linearization parameter dictionary as shown in 303. You may. When the size difference between LSize and 1stPgSize is larger than a predetermined threshold size (ThresholdSize), linearized processing may be applied to the PDF file as shown in 304. If the size difference between the LSize and the 1stPgSize is less than the predetermined ThrasholdSize, a non-linearized process may be applied as shown in 305. In order to minimize the saving of printing time, the non-linearized processing may be performed after the size difference becomes smaller than the predetermined threshold value, and it is necessary to perform the two-step processing performed in the linearized processing disclosed below. Absent.

The PDF file identified as linearized may be subjected to linearized processing as shown in 304 of FIG. As can be seen from FIG. 10 with respect to 304, stream data may be sent to the stream storage task generator, as can be seen from 401. The stream storage task generator may divide the linearized process into two stages. Step 1 may include stream storage and interpretation of the first page. Stage 2 may include storage and interpretation of later pages. As can be seen from FIG. 10, steps 1 and 2 may be processed in parallel. As a result, it is not necessary to wait until all the data is saved, so that the printing speed of the first page can be significantly improved.

According to one embodiment, step 1 may include stream storage on page 1, as shown in 402. While the stream data on the first page is being processed as shown in 404, stream storage on later pages may be done in parallel as shown in 403. Subsequent page data may then be interpreted as shown in 405.

According to one embodiment, the first page stream data of step 1 may be stored in RAM memory at high speed, whether the system memory device is a hard drive. This is because accessing RAM may be faster than accessing a hard drive. However, if the size of the first page stream data in stage 1 is larger than the size of the available RAM, the first page stream data may be stored on a hard drive or other memory storage device. Good. The RAM memory buffer may be used directly by the linearized first page interpreter or may reduce the temporary memory buffer required by the use of the hard drive.

In 404, the linearized stage 1 interpreter may use the interpretation information such as the XREF table and the page information directly from the linearization parameter dictionary. This may be faster to interpret than the non-linearized interpreter shown in 502.

If an error occurs during storage and interpretation of stream data, the error page may be printed and notified to individual 12 with error information such as no memory, font defects, etc. However, there are also special cases where false errors are generated due to the linearization process. This is a situation where the size specified by the linearization parameter dictionary does not match the actual file size. The printer firmware of the present application may provide an interpreter error handler for the above error situation without printing an erroneous error page, as shown in 306.

As can be seen from FIG. 11, the operation of the interpreter error handler is shown. The interpreter error handler determines if there is an interpreter error, as seen in 601. If there are no interpreter errors, no error message will be returned, as shown in 609. If the interpreter error handler recognizes the error, the interpreter error handler determines if there is an error in linearized step 1, as shown in 602. If there are no errors in linearized step 1, an error message is returned, as shown in 608. If there is a linearized step 1 error, the interpreter error handler determines the file size setting, as shown in 604. If the file size is already known, the interpreter error handler will check to see if the file size matches the LSize specified in the linearization parameter dictionary, as shown in 605. If so, the error is a true error and the error is returned, as shown in 608. If not, it is an incorrect linearized error. In this case, printing of the error page may be aborted, as shown in 606, or an erroneous linearized error reply may be reported, as shown in 607. If the file size is unknown, the printer firmware may wait until the stream data is saved in step 2 to know the file size, as shown in 603. If the FileSize matches the LSize, a true PDF interpretation error may be returned, as shown in 608.

Referring to FIG. 12A, currently, if an error is detected, an error page may be printed after the completion of stream data storage, as shown in 700. However, as shown in 800 in FIG. 12B, the printer firmware may be configured so that the PDF interpreter task and the PDF stream storage task use different task threads. If an error is recorded before the stream storage data is complete, two separate task threads may be used to handle the error page printing and consume the remaining stream data at the same time. Thus, stream storage and error page printing may be processed in parallel. This can be done more timely, as opposed to prior art, where error pages can only be printed after stream data storage is complete, thus improving error job printing performance.

The above description is an example of a particular embodiment of the invention and is not intended to limit its practice. The following claims are intended to clarify the scope of the present invention, including all of them having the same meaning.

10 System 14 Image forming device 16 Printing server 22 Network 20 Linearized PDF converter (Linear conversion module)
12 Individual 18A Desktop / Laptop Computing System (Personal Computing System)
18B tablet device 18C mobile phone device

Claims (20)

A method of processing linearized and non-linearized portable document format (PDF) files for printing.
The process of determining whether or not the printer driver has detected that the PDF file is linearized by the printer firmware, and
A step of saving the stream data of the PDF file by the printer firmware when the printer firmware determines that the printer driver has detected that the PDF file is linearized.
When it is not confirmed by the printer driver that the PDF file is linearized, the step of determining whether or not the PDF file is linearized by the printer firmware and
Equipped with a,
The step of determining whether or not the PDF file is linearized by the printer firmware is
A step of monitoring for a linearized key string in the first part of the stream data of the PDF file received by the printer firmware.
When the linearized key character string is found, the process of interpreting the linearized key character string and
If the linearized key character string is found, the process of processing the PDF file as linearized and
When the linearized key character string is not confirmed in the first part of the received PDF file, the step of processing the PDF file as non-linearized and the step of processing the PDF file as non-linearized.
Including
The step of interpreting the linearized key character string is a method including a step of comparing the linearized specific file size of the PDF file with the actual file size of the PDF file. The method according to claim 1.
The step of monitoring for the linearized key string in the first part of the stream data of the PDF file received by the printer firmware is after receiving the 1024-byte stream data of the PDF file. , A method comprising the step of monitoring for the linearized key string by the printer firmware. The method according to claim 1 or 2.
When the linearized key character string is found, the step of processing the PDF file as linearized is
A step of comparing the size difference between the linearized specific file size of the PDF file and the first page file size of the PDF file, and
When the size difference between the linearized specific file size of the PDF file and the first page file size of the PDF file is larger than the threshold size, the step of processing the PDF file as linearized and the step of processing the PDF file as linearized.
When the size difference between the linearized specific file size of the PDF file and the first page file size of the PDF file is less than the threshold size, the step of processing the PDF file as non-linearized and the step of processing the PDF file as non-linearized.
How to include. The method according to claim 3.
When the size difference between the linearized specific file size of the PDF file and the first page file size of the PDF file is larger than the threshold size, the step of processing the PDF file as linearized is
A step of storing and interpreting the first page stream data of the PDF file, and a step of storing and interpreting the non-first page stream data of the PDF file.
How to include. The method according to claim 3.
When the size difference between the linearized specific file size of the PDF file and the first page file size of the PDF file is larger than the threshold size, the step of processing the PDF file as linearized is
The process of storing the first page stream data of the PDF file and
The process of interpreting the first page stream data of the PDF file and
The process of storing the non-first page stream data of the PDF file and
The process of interpreting the non-first page stream data of the PDF file and
Including
A method in which the step of interpreting the first page stream data of the PDF file and the step of storing the non-first page stream data of the PDF file are performed in parallel. The method according to claim 5.
The step of storing the first page stream data of the PDF file stores the first page stream data of the PDF file in a random access memory (RAM), and the RAM is full or said. A method in which the first page stream data of the PDF file is stored in another system memory when RAM is not available. The method according to claim 5.
The step of interpreting the first page stream data of the PDF file is a method of directly interpreting the data from the information in the linearization parameter dictionary. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 7.
The process of monitoring for processing errors while processing the PDF file as linearized, and
When the processing error occurs, the step of comparing the file size of the PDF file with the linearized specific file size of the PDF file, and
When the file size of the PDF file is equal to the linearized specific file size of the PDF file, the step of transmitting an error message and
If the file size of the PDF file and the linearized specific file size of the PDF file are not equal and exceed a predetermined threshold limit, transmission of the error message is stopped and the linearized process is terminated. Then, the process of reprocessing the PDF file as non-linearized and
How to prepare. A method of processing linearized and non-linearized portable document format (PDF) files for printing.
The process of determining whether or not the printer driver has detected that the PDF file is linearized by the printer firmware, and
A step of saving the stream data of the PDF file by the printer firmware when the printer firmware determines that the printer driver has detected that the PDF file is linearized.
When it is not confirmed by the printer driver that the PDF file is linearized, the step of determining whether or not the PDF file is linearized by the printer firmware and
With
Equipped with a process to detect errors
A method in which two separate task threads are used to handle error page printing and the remaining consumption of stream storage if the error is logged before the stream storage is complete. The method according to claim 9.
The step of determining whether or not the PDF file is linearized by the printer firmware is
A step of monitoring for a linearized key string in the first part of the stream data of the PDF file received by the printer firmware.
When the linearized key character string is found, the process of interpreting the linearized key character string and
If the linearized key character string is found, the process of processing the PDF file as linearized and
When the linearized key character string is not confirmed in the first part of the received PDF file, the step of processing the PDF file as non-linearized and the step of processing the PDF file as non-linearized.
Including
The step of interpreting the linearized key character string is a method including a step of comparing the linearized specific file size of the PDF file with the actual file size of the PDF file. The method according to claim 10.
The step of monitoring for the linearized key string in the first part of the stream data of the PDF file received by the printer firmware is after receiving the 1024-byte stream data of the PDF file. , A method comprising the step of monitoring for the linearized key string by the printer firmware. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11.
When the PDF file is transmitted for printing via the printer driver, the step of determining whether the PDF file is linearized by the printer driver and
When the PDF file is non-linearized, the step of linearizing the PDF file by the printer driver and the process of linearizing the PDF file.
How to prepare. The method according to claim 12.
The process of adding printer command information to the PDF file by the printer driver, and
The process of transmitting the printer command information to the printer firmware by the printer driver, and
How to prepare. The method according to claim 13.
The printer command information is a method including file size data and linearization data. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.
The process of opening the PDF file in the PDF application and
If the PDF application has a linearization module, the steps of saving the PDF file as a linearized PDF file and
How to prepare. A method of processing linearized and non-linearized portable document format (PDF) files for printing.
When the PDF file is transmitted for printing via the printer driver, the step of determining whether or not the PDF file is linearized by the printer driver and
When the PDF file is non-linearized, the step of linearizing the PDF file by the printer driver and
The process of adding printer command information to the PDF file by the printer driver, and
The process of transmitting the printer command information to the printer firmware by the printer driver, and
The process of determining whether or not the printer driver has detected that the PDF file is linearized by the printer firmware, and
When the printer firmware determines that the printer driver has detected that the PDF file is linearized, the step of saving the stream data of the PDF file by the printer firmware and the step of saving the stream data of the PDF file.
When it is not confirmed by the printer driver that the PDF file is linearized, the step of determining whether or not the PDF file is linearized by the printer firmware and
The process of identifying a linearization error by the printer firmware and
The process of identifying and processing print errors in parallel by the printer firmware while storing and interpreting stream data, and
How to prepare. The method according to claim 16.
The process of identifying a linearization error by the printer firmware is
The process of comparing the file size of the PDF file with the linearized specific file size of the PDF file, and
When the file size of the PDF file is equal to the linearized specific file size of the PDF file, the step of transmitting an error message and
If the file size of the PDF file and the linearized specific file size of the PDF file are not equal and exceed a predetermined threshold limit, transmission of the error message is stopped and the linearized process is terminated. Then, the process of reprocessing the PDF file as non-linearized and
How to include. The method according to claim 17.
While storing and interpreting stream data, the process of identifying and processing print errors in parallel by the printer firmware is error page printing and error page printing if the error is recorded before stream storage is complete. A method that includes the steps of processing two separate task threads to address the remaining consumption of stream storage. A system that processes linearized and non-linearized portable document format (PDF) files for printing.
When the PDF file is transmitted for printing via the printer driver, the PDF file is received, it is determined whether or not the PDF file is linearized, and if the PDF file is non-linearized, A printer driver module that linearizes the PDF file and adds printer command information to the PDF file when linearizing the PDF file.
It is determined whether or not the printer driver detects that the PDF file is linearized, and if it is not confirmed that the PDF file is linearized by the printer driver, the PDF file is linearized. When the size difference between the linearized specific file size of the PDF file and the first page file size of the PDF file is larger than the threshold size, the PDF file is processed as linearized and the PDF file is processed. If the size difference between the linearized specific file size and the first page file size of the PDF file is less than the threshold size, the PDF file is processed as non-linearized and the received PDF file is received. If the linearized key character string is unconfirmed in the first part, it is provided with a printer firmware module that processes the PDF file as non-linearized.
The printer firmware is a system that identifies the authenticity of linearization errors and identifies and processes print errors in parallel while storing and interpreting stream data. The system according to claim 19.
When the PDF file is stored in the printer firmware module and processed as linearized, the processing error is monitored, and when the processing error occurs, the file size of the PDF file is changed to the linearized specific file of the PDF file. If the file size of the PDF file is equal to the linearized specific file size of the PDF file as compared to the size, an error message is sent to send the file size of the PDF file and the linearized of the PDF file. A system including an error detection module that treats the PDF file as non-linearized if it is not equal to the specific file size.

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